1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system and a communication apparatus capable of performing a call or a notification operation using position information of the communication apparatus, a method for controlling the communication system and the communication apparatus, and a storage medium storing a program for controlling the communication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, when one goes to directly see a person whom he wants to contact, he may call the person in advance to ask the person to wait for him, he may meet the person by making an appointment, or he may go to see the person by estimating the location where the person is present. For that purpose, it is important to know where the person is.
Various means exist for contacting a person, such as a telephone, a pocket pager and the like. These means for contact are one-sided calling means no matter where the person is, or whether or not the person is busy.
A system for determining a person""s location, such as a position sensor system using infrared rays (for example, the Active Badge System of the Olivetti Corporation), has resulted in various products. This system consists of badges (name tags) and sensors which emit and sense infrared rays, respectively. The sensors are disposed at various locations, such as a table, the wall or the ceiling of a room, the wall or the ceiling of a corridor, and the like, and the badge is attached to the chest of each person.
In this system, an ID (identifier) of the badge is periodically transmitted from the badge using infrared rays, and the sensor which has received the infrared rays transmits the received badge ID to the system. The position of the badge (the person having the badge) is detected based on the sensor which has reacted to the badge (the person having the badge). In addition, this system has the function of displaying the location of the badge (the person having the badge) on a picture surface based on the detected position information.
In order to call a person, a sound can be output from a speaker incorporated in the badge (this is the function of a so-called pocket pager).
However, if one goes to see or calls a person at a location in a state in which it is not clear whether or not the person is present at that location, it often happens that he cannot contact the person because the person is absent or busy. Such a failure in contact will cause a decrease in the efficiency of the operation. One may see a person when the person comes nearby. However, considering the fact that one also moves, the opportunity to see the person is, in some cases, very small. Furthermore, even if a person whom one wants to see is present nearby, he may not notice that person.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a contact supporting system which can reduce wasteful calls and perform a call by minimizing interruption to a communication partner""s operation by determining if the communication partner can be called based on information relating to the location of the communication partner obtained from a position sensor system.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a contact supporting system which can provide an individual with a chance to meet a person by considering the locations of the two persons, and which can minimize the distances of movement of the two persons.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a contact supporting system which can realize small distances of movement of the two persons, and perform a call by appropriately considering the state of the communication partner by simultaneously realizing the above-described two objects.
According to one aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to a communication system capable of acquiring the position information of a communication apparatus from a position detection means which detects a position of the communication apparatus. The system includes calling instruction means for performing a call instruction for calling the communication apparatus, determination means for determining whether or not a call in accordance with the calling instruction from the call instruction means is to be performed, based the position information of the communication apparatus acquired from the position detection means, and calling means for calling a first communication apparatus at a side to perform a call, or a second communication apparatus at a side to be called, in accordance with the determination of the determination means.
According to another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to a communication apparatus capable of acquiring the position information of a communication apparatus from a position detection system for detecting a position of the communication apparatus. The apparatus includes instruction means for performing an instruction for causing the communication apparatus to perform a notification operation, determination means for determining whether or not the notification operation in response to the instruction from the instruction means is to be performed based the position information of the other communication apparatus acquired from the position detection system, and notification means for causing the communication apparatus to perform the notification operation in accordance with the determination by the determination means.
According to still another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to a method for controlling a communication system capable of acquiring the position information of a communication apparatus from position detection means for detecting a position of the communication apparatus. The method includes a call instruction step of performing a call instruction for calling the communication apparatus, a determination step of determining whether or not a call in accordance with the call instruction in the call instruction step is to be performed based on the position information of the communication apparatus acquired from the position detection means, and a calling step of calling a first communication apparatus at a side to perform a call, or a second communication apparatus at a side to be called, in accordance with the determination of the determination step.
According to yet another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to a method for controlling a communication apparatus capable of acquiring position information of a communication apparatus from a position detection system for detecting a position of the communication apparatus. The method includes an instruction step of performing an instruction for causing the communication apparatus to perform a notification operation, a determination step of determining whether or not the notification operation in response to the instruction in the instruction step is to be performed based on the position information of the communication apparatus acquired from the position detection system, and a notification step of performing the notification operation of the communication apparatus in accordance with the determination in the determination step.
According to yet a further aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to a storage medium which can be read by a computer and which stores a program for controlling a communication apparatus capable of acquiring the position information of a communication apparatus from a position detection system which detects a position of the communication apparatus. The program includes an instruction step of performing an instruction for causing the communication apparatus to perform a notification operation, a determination step of determining whether or not the notification operation in accordance with the instruction in the instruction step is to be performed based on the position information of the communication apparatus acquired from the position detection system, and a notification step of causing the communication apparatus to perform the notification operation in accordance with the determination in the determination step.
The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.